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What Browser is everyone using?


  • Total voters
    216

phillytim

macrumors 68000
Aug 12, 2011
1,784
1,272
Philadelphia, PA
#1: FIREFOX, of course. ?‍♂️

Second would be Safari; and third would be MS Edge (for my company's vpn, as Edge handles my work-related bookmarks & I keep my work browser isolated from other browsers).
 

excelsior.ink

macrumors regular
Apr 15, 2020
134
78
First: Chrome M1.

I removed keystone and GoogleUpdate services from it.
Can you please explain how have you been removing keystone? I would imagine by deleting some files in ~/Library/Google, but can you please confirm? I would like to use Chrome, I have tried all alternatives: Chromium, Brave, Edge, Opera... For some reason I like the interface of Chrome, Chromium is the best but it lacks some feature like autoupdate, in some versions I cannot share my screen while in Google Meet conferences. I would like to use Safari full time but it's not possible, I need a good Chromium based browser for compatibility. You said you didn't had problems on M1, maybe the fixed some issues in the M1 version.
 

pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,151
14,574
New Hampshire
I've used Firefox since it was called Phoenix back around 2000 or 2001. I've done some development work for Mozilla as well. I like the flexibility and extensions available with it and especially love Ublock Origin. I use Brave on mobile devices as the default browser. It's my backup on Windows and macOS. I like the privacy aspect of it but there are a few extensions on Firefox that I like that I haven't found for Brave. I have met Brendan Eich before at a Mozilla conference - he's brilliant, creative and manages well. I am starting to use Brave search as well. It's nice to have a credible alternative to Google. I suspect that it will take some time for it to build it's database though.
 

pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,151
14,574
New Hampshire
I use Safari 90% and Brave 10%.
If Apple is serious about privacy, Chrome should be labelled as spyware and installation should be blocked on all Apple devices. Most non-techie people are just ignorant about how much data Google collects and they use it since they think it's the best browser out there.

Google pays Apple about $12 billion per year for the search boxes on Apple devices. Apple also pays Google $300 million for iCloud hosting on Google's servers. I don't think that either really wants to go to war with the other. The Android/iOS wars seem to have subsided a long time ago.
 

MacBH928

macrumors G3
May 17, 2008
8,738
3,895
I've used Firefox since it was called Phoenix back around 2000 or 2001. I've done some development work for Mozilla as well. I like the flexibility and extensions available with it and especially love Ublock Origin. I use Brave on mobile devices as the default browser. It's my backup on Windows and macOS. I like the privacy aspect of it but there are a few extensions on Firefox that I like that I haven't found for Brave. I have met Brendan Eich before at a Mozilla conference - he's brilliant, creative and manages well. I am starting to use Brave search as well. It's nice to have a credible alternative to Google. I suspect that it will take some time for it to build it's database though.

Interesting, this is the first time I hear a FireFox affeciando recommending Brave they usually hate on the whole organization. Which FF extensions are missing as Brave is just Chrome really and all Chrome extensions are available.

What are your thought on Brave Search? Although its in Beta I find the results are quite good. The part where I like is that they do not rely on Google or Bing to exist unlike DDG. I also wonder how they could do it meanwhile Qwant and DDG still rely on Bing and refrain from making their own index.
 

MacBH928

macrumors G3
May 17, 2008
8,738
3,895
Google pays Apple about $12 billion per year for the search boxes on Apple devices. Apple also pays Google $300 million for iCloud hosting on Google's servers. I don't think that either really wants to go to war with the other. The Android/iOS wars seem to have subsided a long time ago.

Apple is literally at court fighting against Samsung yet they still buy screens from them. Not to mention Apple used to make mockery of Windows all the time and Microsoft still sold MS Office to Mac OS X.
 

pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,151
14,574
New Hampshire
Interesting, this is the first time I hear a FireFox affeciando recommending Brave they usually hate on the whole organization. Which FF extensions are missing as Brave is just Chrome really and all Chrome extensions are available.

What are your thought on Brave Search? Although its in Beta I find the results are quite good. The part where I like is that they do not rely on Google or Bing to exist unlike DDG. I also wonder how they could do it meanwhile Qwant and DDG still rely on Bing and refrain from making their own index.

Ublock Origin, a particular YouTube Downloader, a particular tab reloader.

Brendan Eich became CEO of Mozilla and was outed as supporting a conservative cause so he started Brave and I like the idea of Brave. Eich also invented Javascript which the web runs on so the world owes him a debt of gratitude. I think that a lot of people in SV won't talk to him but he seems to be all business these days and getting things done.

The CTO position at Mozilla seems to be a stepping stone for people to go to work for private companies (with stock options). I think that Mozilla should have kept Eich as he is a visionary but I do like that we have Brave and Brave Search.

I find the result in Brave Search to be good but incomplete. I've done some searches and gotten back fewer results than from Google. I think that's to be expected, though, as you have to crawl the web continuously for a while to build up your database. I think that Bing went through the same thing when it came about.

I guess Brave crawls the net instead of using Google's database and that's probably a matter of resources. Brave's team is pretty big the last I checked and I suspect that they have a lot more money behind them than DDG.
 
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xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
11,030
5,490
192.168.1.1
I've been using Firefox on my Mac for a couple months now. Really like it.
Tried it on my iPhone and iPad, but the UI for accessing bookmarks isn't great so I went back to Safari on iOS.
 
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pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,151
14,574
New Hampshire
I've been using Firefox on my Mac for a couple months now. Really like it.
Tried it on my iPhone and iPad, but the UI for accessing bookmarks isn't great so I went back to Safari on iOS.

Firefox on mobile is not the same as Firefox on PC. Firefox on mobile is Chromium-based.
 

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
11,030
5,490
192.168.1.1
Firefox on mobile is not the same as Firefox on PC. Firefox on mobile is Chromium-based.
Engine wasn't so much my concern, really. Bookmark syncing with Firefox on my desktop is what I was after, but it takes sometimes two or three taps to get to my bookmarks bar on iOS/iPadOS, whereas the bookmarks bar can be shown on Safari. Too many taps to get to them on mobile. If they improve the UI, I'll go back to it.

Works great on my Mac though.
 

Leon1das

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2020
285
214
Indeed, I removed GoogleSoftwareUpdate and Keystone from the app itself and applied some tweaks to prevent their reinstalling. Also I removed x64 code (from universal binary) using lipo command and unneeded languages so my Chrome app is ~ 250mb size.

I am on holidays now without the access to my Mac but will pull the exact how to when I am back... sorry I couldnt send more now..
 
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Hustler1337

macrumors 68000
Dec 23, 2010
1,854
1,611
London, UK
Firefox, mainly because:

  • Picture-in-picture - for watching Youtube videos in the background while working. Used a lot
  • UBlock Origin support. Safari's available adblocking extensions are not as good!
  • Better UI
  • Syncing of bookmarks with other devices
 

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
1,977
The Finger Lakes Region
Ublock Origin, a particular YouTube Downloader, a particular tab reloader.

Brendan Eich became CEO of Mozilla and was outed as supporting a conservative cause so he started Brave and I like the idea of Brave. Eich also invented Javascript which the web runs on so the world owes him a debt of gratitude. I think that a lot of people in SV won't talk to him but he seems to be all business these days and getting things done.

The CTO position at Mozilla seems to be a stepping stone for people to go to work for private companies (with stock options). I think that Mozilla should have kept Eich as he is a visionary but I do like that we have Brave and Brave Search.

I find the result in Brave Search to be good but incomplete. I've done some searches and gotten back fewer results than from Google. I think that's to be expected, though, as you have to crawl the web continuously for a while to build up your database. I think that Bing went through the same thing when it came about.

I guess Brave crawls the net instead of using Google's database and that's probably a matter of resources. Brave's team is pretty big the last I checked and I suspect that they have a lot more money behind them than DDG.
If you still use Google and think you are safe? Your fooling yourself and use DuckDuckGo instead!
 
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pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,151
14,574
New Hampshire
If you still use Google and think you are safe? Your fooling yourself and use DuckDuckGo instead!

I used to work at a company that vacuumed up transaction data from your credit cards and assembled profiles of consumers. Your data is bought and sold every day. If someone wants my data, have at it. I'm really looking for better results in search and Google is still #1 there.

And I own shares of Google.
 
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MacBH928

macrumors G3
May 17, 2008
8,738
3,895
Ublock Origin, a particular YouTube Downloader, a particular tab reloader.

Brendan Eich became CEO of Mozilla and was outed as supporting a conservative cause so he started Brave and I like the idea of Brave. Eich also invented Javascript which the web runs on so the world owes him a debt of gratitude. I think that a lot of people in SV won't talk to him but he seems to be all business these days and getting things done.

The CTO position at Mozilla seems to be a stepping stone for people to go to work for private companies (with stock options). I think that Mozilla should have kept Eich as he is a visionary but I do like that we have Brave and Brave Search.

I find the result in Brave Search to be good but incomplete. I've done some searches and gotten back fewer results than from Google. I think that's to be expected, though, as you have to crawl the web continuously for a while to build up your database. I think that Bing went through the same thing when it came about.

I guess Brave crawls the net instead of using Google's database and that's probably a matter of resources. Brave's team is pretty big the last I checked and I suspect that they have a lot more money behind them than DDG.

You can use UO on Brave. What is SV?

I do not know how much money they have. I know DDG made like $100M in profit last year, so that makes them at least a billion in worth I guess. Personally I do not think their BAT business model is going to work, i do not use it, but hoping it does so brave sticks around.

Brave search is worse when it comes to local results, so said the guys behind it. Obviously it will be no where near as Google.
 

pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,151
14,574
New Hampshire
You can use UO on Brave. What is SV?

I do not know how much money they have. I know DDG made like $100M in profit last year, so that makes them at least a billion in worth I guess. Personally I do not think their BAT business model is going to work, i do not use it, but hoping it does so brave sticks around.

Brave search is worse when it comes to local results, so said the guys behind it. Obviously it will be no where near as Google.

Silicon Valley.
 

Pastuh

macrumors member
Jun 3, 2021
35
26
Forgive my ignorance. Up until recently I've always used Safari and occasionally Chrome. From a privacy perspective, which browser is best: Safari or Firefox? I have AdGuard extension installed on Safari and I recently downloaded Firefox to give it a try. I have uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger extensions on Firefox installed along with Strict Browser privacy setting and all Data Collection and Use is unchecked. Is there any thing else I should do to help make one or both more private?
 

pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,151
14,574
New Hampshire
Forgive my ignorance. Up until recently I've always used Safari and occasionally Chrome. From a privacy perspective, which browser is best: Safari or Firefox? I have AdGuard extension installed on Safari and I recently downloaded Firefox to give it a try. I have uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger extensions on Firefox installed along with Strict Browser privacy setting and all Data Collection and Use is unchecked. Is there any thing else I should to do to help make one or both more private?

I prefer Firefox as you can use extensions to target problem areas while you have to wait for Apple to add something to their browser. I also use multiple operating systems and like to use the same tool on multiple systems. I mainly use Firefox and use Brave as a backup. I seldom use Safari.
 

Pastuh

macrumors member
Jun 3, 2021
35
26
After getting Firefox set up I'm wondering if I'm on a ship that's on fire? Didn't realize how financially broke Mozilla is and the staff/positions that were eliminated in large part to finances. Could it be only a matter of time for Firefox?
 
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